


Keys, Cigarettes, and Kids Are Always in the Last Place You Look

by Pendule



Category: Gintama
Genre: Amanto - Freeform, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dadtoki, Fanart, Fights, Gintoki Birthday Bash, I swear, Injury, Kidnapping, M/M, Smoking, it's not as sad as it sounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26902402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pendule/pseuds/Pendule
Summary: “‘A reminder for our late viewer, an amanto is rumoured to be roaming around Edo kidnapping children of all ages. We are advising every parents to be careful with their children. In the last information that reached us, the criminal had been last seen in the surroundings of Kabukichou’.Gintoki felt Otose’s gaze on him immediately. ‘Shouldn’t the kids be already back from their errands?’ she asked, tone oddly neutral. Gintoki’s eyes met hers. He got up, and in an instant, he was off.”Or, Gintoki and Hijikata end up running around Edo in the middle of the night in search of their kidnapped kids.
Relationships: Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 13
Kudos: 89
Collections: Gintoki's Birthday Bash 2020





	Keys, Cigarettes, and Kids Are Always in the Last Place You Look

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!  
> First of all, I’m a non-native English speaker so I’m sorry if there’s any mistake!
> 
> That being said, this fic was written for the Gintoki’s Birthday Bash 2020 collection! It features a beautiful drawing made by the wonderful @whoyoucallingtoshi !! You can find them on tumblr under the same name!

Gintoki had been gawking into the void on his stool for around an hour now. He had sent the kids to do some errands in the closest local shop in the late afternoon, and seeing that they’d been too slow to come back, he had decided to go and grab something to drink downstairs. Otose’s bar was pretty packed, but the patrons favoured the booth seats, giving Gintoki full space on the stools of the counters. He didn’t care very much, but being alone was pleasant.

He yawned as he stretched his arms, the noise coming from the TV nearby being drowned by the loud discussions of the people behind him. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Otose wiping glasses with a clean tea towel. Like always, a cigarette was hanging between her lips, and as she noticed Gintoki watching her, she tsked as she threw him the towel in the head. ‘Don’t daydream like that in my bar, you should be looking for jobs to pay me my rent instead of drinking here’, she said.

The silver-haired man didn’t even try to dodge it, simply snorting as he took the towel away from his face, ready to throw it back. He was stopped by Catherine walking right in front of him on the other side of the counter, snatching the towel from his hands and throwing him a dirty glare. Gintoki banged his fist on the table, feigning annoyance ‘Oï, it’s my day off, old hag, as far as I know, I’m still allowed to come here and have a drink like anyone else’.

Otose didn’t answer, simply shaking her head as she turned towards the TV, grabbing the remote control before changing the channel. Gintoki was about to protest, but he was stopped by the wonderful voice of the talented reporter Ketsuno Ana. ‘And as we are nearing the end of the broadcast, let me remind you of the headline of tonight’s news, - ‘Oï, old hag, turn the volume up’- ‘an amanto is rumoured to be roaming around Edo kidnapping children of all ages. We are advising every parent to be careful with their children. In the last information that reached us, the criminal had been last seen in the surroundings of Kabukichou. Please be safe, thank you for having watched the news, and see you tomorrow morning at 8 am for the weather forecast!’.

Gintoki felt Otose’s gaze on him immediately. ‘Shouldn’t the kids be already back from their errands?’ she asked, tone oddly neutral. Gintoki’s eyes met hers. He got up, and in an instant, he was off.

The streets outside were already dark, moon clear in the sky, the street lights dancing around it in lieu of stars. The first thing he did while stepping outside was checking inside the apartment to see if they hadn’t come back here without warning them. But when he opened the door, neither the kids nor Sadaharu were here. It was to be expected, but it didn’t stop the pang of worry already in his chest from stirring. His second idea was to retrace the kids steps to the konbini. He saw nothing on his way, so when he entered the shop, he immediately walked up to the checkout. An old man was sitting here, eyeing him lazily. ‘Oï old man, have you seen any young girl with orange hair and an older boy with glasses in your shop this evening?’, Gintoki asked, straight to the point.

The man seemed to think for a second, before answering ‘Yeah, loud kids and a big dog in the entrance’, with a nod.

Gintoki leaned towards the counter, frowning, ‘Exactly, when did they leave the shop?’ he asked, trying not to sound too insistent.

The man simply shrugged, vaguely answering ‘Dunno, maybe 20 minutes ago, could be more, could be less’. Gintoki mumbled a thanks as he rushed out outside. They’d left 20 minutes ago, which didn’t compulsorily mean that something had happened to them right after getting out of the shop. Maybe 10 minutes ago. If he looked around, maybe he could get any information, maybe someone had seen something? Sadaharu was with the kids, which meant that whatever had happened, he was with them, because he would never let anything happen to them. But such a gigantic dog could not disappear without anyone noticing.

Walking back to the apartment, Gintoki questioned anyone he met, but no one seemed to have noticed anything. He clenched his fists and realised that sweat was starting to pool in his palms. He wiped them on his kimono as he stopped in the middle of the road to look around him. From where he was standing he could see Otose’s snack house, and the walk back to the shop hadn’t been longer than 5 minutes. How could something have happened to them? Where were they? He was mumbling to himself and was taken out of his thoughts by a loud horn behind him. He spin on himself, ready to scream at whoever horned at him, when he took in the familiar black lines on the body of the car. Frowning, he walked to the driver’s window, his shoulders sagging in what he refused to acknowledge as relief as he recognised the driver. ‘Let me guess, you’re looking for the kids?’ was all Hijikata said, and Gintoki nodded in answer. The raven-haired man bit the inside of his cheeks before nodding towards the passenger seat, ‘I can’t find Sougo’.

Gintoki walked around the car, climbing into the passenger seat, ‘You’ve heard about the amanto?’ was all he said as he closed the door.

Hijikata restarted the engine as he manoeuvred to move further into the supposedly pedestrian-only street, ‘Yeah, heard the news report and realised that Sougo hadn’t come back from town. Not that I’d be worrying about him, he’s old enough to take care of a single dissident, but today there’s his fav show on the TV and he never misses it.’ Hijikata simply said.

Gintoki easily recognised the worry in his voice and couldn't stop himself from saying ‘Whatever trouble they’re in, the worst part of it is that they’re probably together, and these brats can’t stay unsupervised for too long or the town will end up in shit’.

The Vice-Commander snorted, ‘I’m only looking for the kid because I know that the longer he’s gone, the more papers I will have to fill in the incident report later’, he replied. Silence fell into the car as the discussion stopped. It wasn’t an awkward one, they’d already overtook this awkward phase in their relationship, but both men could feel the tension around them.

Gintoki’s eyes were glued onto the streets, eyes scanning the surroundings as the car drove through the crowd of passer-by. The Vice-Commander’s eyes were looking in the other way, and even though he usually was a careful driver, he was obviously distracted. His fingers drumming onto the steering wheels were a clear proof of the worry itching his nerves, the gesture reminded Gintoki of the rare days when Hijikata ran out of cigarettes and the need got on his nerves before he could find any relief. Usually the reason for his non-consummation of cigarettes was Gintoki’s making. The silver-haired man keeping the Vice-Commander too busy or too far from a shop to get a new packet. It always brought a small smile to the silver-haired man’s lips to see how his shenanigans could affect the Hijikata to such an extent. But now there was nothing endearing in the scene, and the noise itself was starting to get onto Gintoki’s nerves.

The car slowed as they reached a traffic light and Gintoki leaned into the driver seat, deftly fishing the cigarette packet out of the Vice-Commander’s jacket, as well as the lighter. He took a cigarette out and brought it to his lips, using the lighter before almost throwing it into the glove box. But at the last moment he reconsidered it and shoved it into a pocket inside his kimono. The lighter could still come handy later.

Finally, Gintoki took a drag. He exhaled the smoke as he took the cig away from his mouth and held it out for Hijikata to take. As the Vice-Commander deftly grabbed it and brought it to his lips, Gintoki opened his passenger window, making the air into the car a little bit more breathable.

Hijikata didn’t say a word about Gintoki smoking, he was past the point of being surprised by it. It wasn’t a habit the silver-haired man had taken, and it was far from being an addiction, - he couldn’t financially afford it to be one -, but it seemed that Gintoki liked to smoke when he was stressed. Hijikata had realised that in their early relationship, when he had started to wonder why his cigarette packets seemed to drain faster than usual. He’d been quite busy at the time so he hadn’t really tried to investigate further into this, quickly ascribing the disappearances to his tiredness. It hadn’t been until one night, when he had been roused by particularly loud shouting in the streets, that he’d caught sight of Gintoki laying against the windowsill of his room, a cigarette tightly pressed between his lips, that Hijikata had found the culprit of this new theft. The Vice-Commander hadn’t pressed the matter, only offering Gintoki the possibility for Hijikata to bring another packet just for him. The Yorozuya hadn’t seemed to take the offer that well, and had seemingly stopped “borrowing” Hijikata’s Mayoboros. It hadn’t been much effort then for the Vice-Commander to correlate the smoking occurrences to what could be considered as “stressing jobs” for Gintoki. They didn’t talk about it, but soon enough, the cigarettes started to disappear once again, and Hijikata found himself subconsciously leaving half-full packets into Gintoki’s room when he slept there, almost every night.

The sound of his drumming fingers was drowned by the noise coming from the now open window, the smoke leaving the car as well. Hijikata knew that he was the kind of person that stressed easily, it was needed when he had a job like his. A Vice-Commander needed firmness and stability, but still needed to be involved with his men’s missions, and understand the consequences that such a high post implied. So obviously, the stress of the job was something he was used to, his life being devoid of calmness and moments of contemplation for as long as he could remember. The anxiety he was feeling right now was far from being foreign, but it wasn’t the case for the man next to him. Of course Gintoki suffered from anxiety, and even though he seemed like a lazy and slacking man, Hijikata didn’t know a single person that did his job with as much implication as Gintoki did. No, what Hijikata was thinking wasn’t that Gintoki wasn’t used to being stressed. What he was thinking was that, even though he more often than not ended in risky situations, he rarely let the stress overwhelm him. There always was a sense of serenity radiating from the man once he picked up his sword and rushed forward a fight. Yet, Hijikata had come to learn that if there was something able to rile the silver-haired samurai and set his nerves on fire, it was the prospect of his kids being in danger.

Gintoki trusted them enough to get out of dangerous situations, but Hijikata knew that the itch of anxiety bugging Gintoki would be hard to control the more the time passed. The man was like a time bomb, the more unsure about the kids whereabouts’ he was, the more out of control he would be once they would have a lead. The neon lights of hostess bars’ facades blinded Hijikata when he looked through the wing mirrors, and he could see them through the corner of his eyes being reflected into Gintoki’s silvery strands of hair. It was a pretty sight.

Right when he let his guard down, Gintoki straightened up, shouting ‘STOP’ as he was already opening his door. Thankfully Hijikata had good reflexes, because the other Samurai didn’t even wait for the car to fully stop before he stepped outside, seemingly unbothered by his jump from a still moving car. The Vice-Commander sighed as he apologised to the car behind him with a sign, driving the car as much on the left as he could to let those behind him pass. He had no idea where he could park the car, and the streets were too busy to just let it in the middle of it. He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a drag of the cigarette still resting between his lips. He took it away, sighing. Gintoki didn’t need to slip away like that, he could have given him a reason, at least.

Hijikata was about to get out to see what the silver-haired man was up to when the passenger’s door opened right as his hand pressed the handle of the driver’s one. Gintoki climbed into the car, holding a sheet of paper in his hands.

Hijikata frowned as he extended his hand to grab it. Gintoki took the cigarette Hijikata was holding, trading it with the white sheet. As he took a closer look, Hijikata’s frown turned into a scowl as he turned his head towards Gintoki. The latter didn’t seem to be bothered by the glare he was being addressed, smugly taking a drag from the almost finished cigarette, laying his back against the window frame. ‘Care to explain what the fuck is this, Yorozuya?’, Hijikata asked, sounding pissed off.

‘Is your eyesight that bad, Hijikata-kun?’, Gintoki asked with a grin. In the driver’s seat, the Vice-Commander seemed to have lost his ability to talk. ‘Oï, oï, that’s enough watching for you now, give it back to me’, Gintoki added, extending his arm towards the other man to grab the sheet of paper. Strangely enough, the Vice-Commander didn’t even try to hold it back.

‘Is that an autograph from _Ketsuno Ana_?’ the raven-haired man finally succeeded to articulate. His voice was laced with disbelief and exasperation.

‘Well, yes, obviously, I didn’t ask a random person to sign a sheet of paper with the name of Ketsuno Ana on it, Vice-Commander’, Gintoki answered simply.

Hijikata registered the noise of crumpled paper before he realised that he’d been crushing the autograph. Gintoki yelped as he lurched towards the man, desperately trying to save the precious testimony of Ketsuno Ana’s acknowledgement of his very existence. ‘Oï! You may be jealous, Ogushi-kun, but it’s not a reason to tear it into pieces!’, Gintoki screamed in Hijikata’s ears as he was grabbing the autograph. ‘You didn’t even let me finish, you asshole’, he finally added after he realised that Hijikata showed no intention of letting the sheet go.

This, at least, seemed to catch the raven-haired man’s attention somehow, as he frowned and asked ‘What were you going to say, then?’.

Gintoki sighed, moving back to his own seat and crossing his arms, throwing his head towards the window with a petulant air. ‘Well, as a reminder, on top of being a wonderful weather-caster, Ketsuno Ana is also a journalist’. He stopped, throwing a side glance to Hijikata who simply narrowed his eyes as he urged him to keep talking. ‘If there’s anyone in Edo who’s likely to get the more accurate information regarding a news issue, it’s definitely her’ Gintoki finally completed.

Realising that Hijikata still hadn’t moved an inch, Gintoki sighed as he fished something out from the inside of his left kimono sleeve. He handed the small scrap of paper to the silent man at his side. Hijikata grabbed it warily, eyeing it with an analysing glare as he unfolded it. Hastily written in black ink, Hijikata could read the name of a park nearby, Shinjuku Gyo-en. It wasn’t really far from where they were now. He was about to ask if he did get more information when he heard a loud gasp.

Confused, he turned his head towards the sound to see Gintoki cradling the autograph on his laps. Or the pieces of what used to form an autograph, to be more precise. Hijikata pulled a face, already knowing what was about to come. ‘It’s just a sheet of paper, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to ask her for a new one’, he said, rubbing his forehead.

Turning his whole body towards the window, Gintoki didn’t even look at him as he answered almost with what suspiciously sounded like an order ‘Just drive to the god damn park, Hijikata’. It was weird to hear his name said without the usual “-kun” attached to it. The Vice-Commander shook his head. A worried Gintoki was a pain to manage, but a pissed off Gintoki? Hijikata could already smell troubles and distraction without even being into the fight yet.

Still, he turned the ignition and drove back into the street, trying to remember which way would be the easier to take to reach the park. They had lost time with their stupid argument and now wasn’t the time to dawdle. Gintoki was still sulking, and even though Hijikata didn’t like to go to fight when he got into an argument with Gintoki, he knew that the silver-haired man fuelled himself on anger and resentment. He was no good when worry gnawed at him, his moves being sloppy and rushed instead of the usual precise and incisive cut he could produce. Hijikata wasn’t glad to have fought with Gintoki, but at least the silver-haired man’s mood had changed now, and his gloomy attitude had turned into a more focused and alert one.

As they neared their destination, Hijikata decided to park the car in a parking lot not so close to the park. The least thing they wanted was to be spotted before even trying to understand the situation. Gintoki silently stepped out of the car, closing the door behind him carefully. He was still sulking, but the anger was slowly receding to let place to a mix of stress and buzz peculiar to when he knew a fight was coming.

Hijikata walked up to the main gate, not surprised to see that it was locked. ‘It’s locked, guess it was to be expected. We should try to see if there’s another entrance in the back’, he said before turning towards Gintoki.

The latter was actually suspended to the gate, his two arms holding himself upward and one of his legs propped against a metal bar on the gate, the other one dangling in thin air. Hijikata narrowed his eyes, ‘What are you trying to do, exactly?’, he asked with a blasé tone.

Gintoki looked at him just as if he was the most stupid man in Edo, which, frankly, was probably how Gintoki saw him, Hijikata thought. ‘Well, climbing, obviously. We have to be quick, going straight seems to be the quickest option, so yeah, climbing’, Gintoki answered.

Hijikata didn’t even know what to say, feeling both extremely pissed at Gintoki’s idea, but actually agreeing with his deduction. The Vice-Commander looked around to see if there wasn’t anyone looking at them, and then gripped the bar in front of him tightly, starting to climb the gate as well. It wasn’t that hard, but his pants really weren’t appropriate for these kinds of movements.

Gintoki climbed with ease and easily landed on the grass on the other side of the gate, not even bothering hiding his smug grin when Hijikata joined him a few seconds later. ‘Getting old, Vice-Commander, are we?’. The latter clenched his fists, but didn’t react. At least if Gintoki teased him, it meant that he wasn’t sulking anymore. Gintoki’s changes of moods were frequent, and even though it should upset him, a small smile tugged at his lips when he realised that Gintoki’s mood had lightened.

Gintoki finally turned and looked around. There was no light around, and the streets lamps were too far away to reach the park. Darkness would be their only company of the night and they would have to do with it. He sighed before starting to walk into the main path that led through the park. ‘Oï, I don’t think we should use the main path, let’s split up, we’d be more efficient’, Hijikata said as he joined him.

Gintoki audibly gasped exaggeratedly as he turned towards the Vice-Commander, ‘Split up, Vice-Commander? Have you never watched a horror movie in your entire life, Hijikata-kun? Don’t you know that it’s always the pretty ones that are killed firstly? I cannot fathom dying in the prime of life for the sake of my beauty, Hijikata-kun. I won’t play the villain’s game, and I will stay alive to show my beautiful face to the entirety of Edo for many years to come, again!’, he declared, raising his right fist to punctuate his sentence.

Hijikata sighed as he rubbed his forehead, definitely not ready to endure Gintoki’s assertiveness and long hours of research on unknown territory against enemies he knew nothing of. He could already feel the headache forming and the pressure against his forehead increasing. ‘Fine, we’re not splitting up, but shut the fuck up and keep it down, the more discreet we are, the more advantage we gain on them’, he finally said with a low voice. It was true that they still had no clear idea of who they were after, of how many they were, and of what they were capable. But Gintoki was right, splitting up probably wasn’t their best option here. He was just used to doing it when he was with his unit on a mission.

Gintoki stepped away from the gravel path, instead walking towards the small wood on the left side of the park. Hijikata frowned as he followed him, asking with a whisper ‘You know where to go?’.

The silver-haired man didn’t even slow down as he shrugged, answering ‘ Not really, Ketsuno Ana simply said that the amanto was supposedly alone, residing in this park, and that he had a habit of kidnapping kids, but that adults could be caught too’. Hijikata raised a brow. Sticking together maybe hadn’t been a bad idea, finally.

They walked in relative silence, the sound of their steps heavy in the silence of the large and empty park. Sometimes they heard the flapping of wings followed by the hooting of owls flying away or swooping on a prey, or the usual creaking of the tree branches moved by the wind. This almost complete silence gave to the walk an almost sacred atmosphere, as if something would happen if both men would dare to break the tacit rule of quietness going on in the night of the park.

It wasn’t bothering Gintoki that much, since he didn’t feel like talking. He wasn’t sure what he could possibly say, and he hated to do small talk. Doing so with Hijikata would just feel wrong, making the situation even more weird than it already was. The priority was to find the kids and Sadaharu, talking wouldn’t get them there any faster, so avoiding to be spotted because of that was at least something they didn’t need to worry about.

Gintoki was happy with just having a quiet conversation with himself, when a strange feeling ran through his spine. He paused in his steps as he turned his head around, on the look-out. In front of him, Hijikata stopped as well, shooting him a curious glance. Gintoki dismissed him with a nod before starting to walk again. But the atmosphere had changed, he could feel that, and Gintoki was sure that the Vice-Commander had felt that too. If they hadn’t talked before it was simply because none of them felt the need to, but now it was definitely to avoid something. Though Gintoki didn’t really know what.

He wanted to stop again. He felt watched over, as if they were surrounded by people watching them, pairs of eyes fixed on their backs. Gintoki hurried up, getting closer to Hijikata, his shoulder bumping into the other’s. ‘We’re not alone anymore’, he whispered into the raven-haired man’s ear.

‘I know’, was all Hijikata answered, concise and straight to the point. He was always aware of his surroundings so it wasn’t such a surprising answer from him. Though his lack of development rendered Gintoki puzzled. Usually, Hijikata was more than eager to share his plan of action in dire situations, hence why his silence here was unexpected. Hijikata, just like Gintoki, had no idea what they were supposed to do.

Usually, they both rushed in the fight, slicing everything and everyone until only their allies remained standing. But it was different here, they had no idea what kind of amantos they were dealing with, and rushing in a fight with them could mean that they would lose their only source of information on the whereabouts of the kids. As he was lost in his thoughts, Hijikata finally spoke up again ‘I don’t know how many there are, but if we can at least put one of them to flight, he will maybe lead us to the kids’.

It wasn’t really a plan strictly speaking, but it was already more than whatever Gintoki had thought before, so he silently agreed as Hijikata was looking at him. ‘Let me move a little forward, it’ll give you more room to count them and counterattack’, Hijikata added, before moving forward. Gintoki slowed down as he watched the man slowly walking away. There were trees around them, just like before, but right in front of them was a fallen tree trunk.

Gintoki watched silently as Hijikata inched closer to it. If the amantos wanted to attack them, then it was their time to. It’s what Gintoki would have done at their place. Actually, their plan relied on it, and even though the silver-haired man didn’t really want them to attack his boyfriend, it was the only semblance of idea they had at the moment.

Hijikata walked over the fallen tree trunk, and a twinkle broke under his shoes. Gintoki caught movement from the corner of his eyes, and readied himself to jump. There was an awfully loud noise and before his eyes, Gintoki saw hands grabbing Hijikata’s clothes and limbs. The Vice-Commander eyes widened as he was dragged behind. It wasn’t what they had planned.

Gintoki threw himself at him, his hands reaching out to grab Hijikata’s extended right one, but it never reached its goal. Gintoki articulated a half cried out ‘HIJIKATA’, desperately trying to grab him, before darkness fell upon him, his feet stumbling onto the tree trunk Hijikata had climbed over just seconds before. Gintoki’s body hit the dusty ground as he held his head in his hands in a protective stance. He heard retreating footsteps all around him, but they were soon enough drowned out by the increasing pounding in his ears. The darkness around him would have been welcomed, had it not been the culprit that had facilitated Hijikata’s kidnapping.

The silver-haired man let out a scream of frustration, the sound somehow muffled by the ground in which his head was almost buried. Gintoki felt miserable, here, laying on the dust and soil still wet from the previous downpour, alone. The amantos were supposed to attack them, not kidnap Hijikata. It wasn’t what they had expected, and now Hijikata was gone, just like the kids. Gintoki fisted his fists, grabbing fistfuls of soil and throwing them around in a fit of frustration. _Fuck._ He didn’t protect shit. He wasn’t even able to keep his family safe.

He grunted as he rolled onto his back. He wanted to scream again but didn’t have the motivation for it. He sighed, breathing in and out, trying to calm his over beating heart. He tried to focus on the sound of the wind to clear his mind, though it didn’t work very well at first. But finally, after a few minutes, he succeeded in slowing his breathing, and gaining a semblance of composure again. Anger was taking over despair and he slowly straightened up before getting back to his feet. He dusted himself off, before finally looking around.

Gintoki was indeed alone, but just a stone’s throw away, on the ground, rested Hijikata’s sword. He probably got just the time to unsheathe it before they had grabbed his hands. _They._ Ketsuno Ana had only talked about one amanto, not multiple. But Gintoki had seen more than two hands. It was weird.

He shook his head, it wasn’t something he had to worry about now, he had to find the man anyway, it didn’t matter whether he would have to fight against one or a hundred amantos. He walked to Hijikata’s sword, grabbing it before dusting it off. It wasn’t really a good idea, but he had nothing better, so he tied the guard to his belt, right next to his bokutou. The extra weight sat right with him, but he felt more comfortable with it on his hip than on the other side. With Hijikata’s sword at his side, Gintoki was a tad more motivated. He set off, heading straight to where the hands had dragged Hijikata.

The foliage over his head was thick, and all he could rely on was his adjusted eyes in the night, and the scarce moonbeams making their way through the trees’ branches. He didn’t stumble much, but each time he banged into a rock or trunk Hijikata’s screaming face and reaching hands filled his mind.

He realised that he was clenching his jaw and tried to slacken it. He was about to keep walking straight when a flash of light caught his eyes, a little bit on the right from the path he was taking. He frowned, his right hand instinctively reaching his sword’s guard as he took a step further towards the place where he’d seen the flash. He took each step carefully, ready to jump on whoever was hiding there.

He finally reached a row of trees that seemed to be the last ones before leading to an open clearing. Gintoki tilted his head to get a better view, and he stopped halfway as his breath caught in his throat. _Oh._ The flash of light was actually moonbeams reflecting onto the whiteness of a dog’s fur.

Before him, Sadaharu was laying on his flank, hemp ropes tightly tying him to the ground. Gintoki bristled as he crossed the line of trees, hastening to his dog without even assuring that he was alone. It didn’t really matter.

The erratic beating of his heart receded as he noticed the steady rise of Sadaharu’s loud breathing. As he reached the huge dog, Gintoki even heard him snoring. He repressed a snort as he skirted him in search of any injury. There were none, and Gintoki’s face scrunched up in confusion. If there had been a fight between the kids and the amanto, then Sadaharu had to have been a part of it, and yet there was no sign of fight on the dog. Gintoki wasn’t sure how to take the information. He was glad that his dog was safe and apparently only sleeping, but he was afraid that if Sadaharu wasn’t injured, then it meant that the kids had been the ones to protect him and not the usual other way around. Gintoki was glad to find his dog in one piece, but he wanted to find his kids in the same state.

Carefully, Gintoki cut the ropes constricting the dog, before he tried to call his name. Gently, he stroked the fur on his head, before trying to scratch his belly. This only earned him a small whine from the dog and an unconscious roll onto his back to get more belly scratch. Sadaharu seemed to be in a deep sleep, and though it was a little bit worrisome, at least he was safe. Gintoki decided to leave his dog here and to go in search of his missing kids and boyfriend.

He stood back up, petting Sadaharu a last time before walking away. He wasn’t in a good mood. He was trying to stay as calm as he could, but it was hard to contain his nerves. His fists clenched and unclenched at each step he took, the two swords heavy on his side and itching to finally be unsheathed. Gintoki craved a fight, desperately so. He had passed a good day, leisurely doing a job given by an old grandma. He’d been happy to have some alone time with Otose at the bar, and since it was Tuesday, he knew that Hijikata’s night shift would end early and that they could pass the night together. He might have even waited for it. But no, a fucking amanto had to ruin his plans and make him run into a fucking park alone looking for his kidnapped family.

The more time passed, and the more Gintoki definitely thought that he really couldn’t have the luxury of having one single peaceful day in his life. Maybe it was the price he had to pay for all his sins, with no way to atone them. A lifetime of constant running around, to earn money, to keep his loved one safes, to stay alive. Always in the move as if he was constantly chased, be it by old ghosts or the Grim Reaper herself.

Anyway, as he was trying to list the constant misfortunes he was exposed to in his daily life, a distant sound reached his ears. He slowed down his pace as he tried to listen to it more intently. He frowned as he recognised the sound of sloshing water. He’d seen on the map at the entrance of the park that there was indeed a lake nearby, but this wasn’t just the natural sound of water being moved by the wind. No, there was someone there. Intrigued, Gintoki decided to follow the sound, hoping that whatever he would find could finally bring him a lead.

As the number of trees around him narrowed down, Gintoki almost stepped into a small clearing, quite similar to the one where he had found Sadaharu, with the exception that instead of a white dog in the middle, there was a lake instead. On the edge of the bank was a man. He was turning his back to the forest, but Gintoki could see that the sloshing sound was coming from his dangling legs in the lake. The silver-haired man was seeing red, the man had the nerve to kidnap his loved ones and then take a small break on the verge of the lake? This was some next level of audacity, and Gintoki couldn’t stand that. He quickly closed the distance between him and the man with long strides, grabbing and hoisting him up by the collar.

Gintoki easily caught a flash of fear and confusion crossing the man’s face, and instantly loosened his grip on his collar. The man’s eyes conveyed the same feeling Gintoki got each time his eyes crossed Hasegawa-san’s. ‘You’re not an amanto, right?’, Gintoki asked.

The frown on the man’s face deepened as he shook his head and answered with a whisper ‘Huh no I’m not. I’m simply seeking shelter in the park once night comes’.

Gintoki lowered him with a sigh and an apology. The man quickly stepped back, straightening his clothes for good measures. He picked his bag up as he murmured ‘I’m going to change park, there’s too many weirdos here now’, and started to leave before Gintoki grabbed his wrist, suddenly interested.

‘You’ve seen someone else in the park tonight besides me?’, he asked. The man nodded, turning his head towards the west.

‘Yeah, some amanto chased me from the house I usually sleep in, it’s not really far from here, you couldn’t miss it if you followed the edge of the lake towards the west, it’s a huge abode’, the stranger added. Gintoki left without a word, following the edge of the lake as he’d been indicated.

The man had been right, the house was easy to spot. Gintoki was tired, the night was starting to be long, and he was sick of running around, so he just headed straight for the main door. In other times, maybe he would have been more cautious, but now he just decided to throw it out of the window, opting for a more straightforward approach.

The house indeed looked uninhabited, built in a western-like manor style, with long windows on each side of the door in the middle. It was unusual to see a house like this around here, and Gintoki could easily guess that this used to be some sort of royal member’s second home.

Once in front of the door, he tried to open it, and wasn’t really surprised to note that the handle had been broken, probably by some random men looking for something of value or a place to stay many years ago. As he stepped into the huge entrance, he was only greeted by dust and many spider’s webs hanging low down the walls. He had almost expected to see a huge staircase in the middle of the room to lead to a second floor, but instead there was only a small one on the left. It was in wood, and Gintoki was pretty sure that he could see holes through it, so there was no way he was stepping on this. But there was a doorway on the right, the only one in the room, so he decided to follow this path instead.

He stepped into a hallway, full of doors, each one of them being closed, for the exception of the one right in front of him at the other end of the hallway. Gintoki had for only light the moonbeams passing through the windows, but he didn’t miss the movement he saw in the open room. He headed towards it with a firm step, his hand securely holding his sword still at his waist. He slowed down as he reached the doorway, waiting just to be sure that nothing was going to jump on him at the last second.

Since nothing seemed to happen, he took a last breath and finally stepped into the room. At first he didn’t see much, since there was no light and no window either. But slowly, his eyes grew used to the darkness, and he started to make out some lumps on the ground, and big shadows in the room.

Gintoki was about to try and search the room blindly, before a thought crossed his mind. Quickly, he dug a hand inside his kimono and searched through one of his pockets. A small smile tugged at his lips as he found what he’d been looking for. Softly, he fished the object out, before pressing the switch. Hijikata’s lighter switched on as the flame flickered under his breath. He knew that the damn thing would come in handy.

With some light now, he could make out more easily the room before him, and he realised that the things he had mistook for shadows were huge pillars holding the roof up. At its feet, the lumps were actually Kagura and Shinpachi rolled into balls onto the ground. His breath hitched as he caught sight of Sougo being tied to a pillar further away, with what suspiciously looked like blood dripping from his clothes. Finally, on the far left side of the room was Hijikata, tied down to a pillar as well, a black eye and bruises already forming on his face.

Gintoki grit his teeth as he strolled down to Kagura and Shinpachi, slowly putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder and softly calling her name out ‘Kagura, oï Kagura, wake up’. The little girl stirred with a grunt, sleep still fogging her mind as she looked at Gintoki without recognising him. ‘Are you hurt anywhere?’, the silver-haired man asked, voice laced with concern.

As she finally recognised the voice, Kagura sat up. ‘Gin-chan??’ was all she said before she accidentally elbowed Shinpachi in the ribs.

The boy groaned as he rubbed at his side, ‘Rescue’s finally here?’ he asked, his words sluggish.

Gintoki nodded, before realising that the kids probably couldn’t see him. He murmured a ‘Yeah I’m here, sorry for the wait’, before immediately taking his sword out. He gauged the chain that was holding the kids prisoners, it was heavy, but nothing Kagura couldn’t break if she tried. ‘You didn’t try to escape? What happened?’ he asked, curious.

Shinpachi shook his head, yawning, ‘I don’t really remember what happened, we were walking home and suddenly Sadaharu collapsed on the ground. We tried to run to him but then I think we fainted. I don’t remember anything else except waking up and you were here’, the boy answered. He might have been sleeping, but his mind was still quite clear.

At his side, Kagura was writhing, suddenly super aware of the situation ‘Where’s Sadaharu? What happened to him? Where are we, Gin-chan?’.

Gintoki sighed as he started to cut the chains, ‘Sadaharu’s fine, I’ve seen him sleeping outside, we’re leaving soon’, he said as concise as possible. Kids didn’t need all the details. He himself didn’t really know what to say, he still hadn’t seen any trace of the amanto, and finding the kids had been way easier than he had assumed, he didn’t like that. They had to be quick before things turned sour.

Once the kids were free, he turned towards Sougo. The boy had definitely taken a beating, it was unusual to see him injured, leaving Gintoki uneasy. He quickly cut the chains holding him and caught him before he could fall. Carefully, he lowered him onto the ground, stripping him from his usual uniform jacket. His white shirt was stained by blood and Gintoki held his breath as he took it off as well. The wound was indeed nasty, the cut deep into his left shoulder, the slice even reaching his abdomen. There wasn’t much they could do right now, so Gintoki simply tore a piece of his kimono, tying it around the wound to stop the bleeding. It would do the job for the time being, but they needed to bring him to a hospital quickly if they wanted to prevent an infection or a critical haemorrhage.

He was about to do the same thing to Hijikata when he heard a cracking sound behind him. He spin around, bokutou already drawn out as he blocked a blow. The impact made him step back and he dropped the lighter to the ground, plunging the room into darkness. Sougo and Hijikata were behind him, but he hadn’t been able to see where the kids were before he dropped the light, and he didn’t like that. He was about to call them out before Kagura’s sudden shriek answered the unasked question and broke the silence. Gintoki immediately plunged into her direction, his sword levelled towards the ground to avoid touching any of the kids.

But before he could reach anything, light suddenly switched on, blinding and rooting him to the spot. He almost brought his free arm over his head to shield his eyes from the sudden light before remembering that he was still pretty much into a fight. He lowered it and easily spotted the amanto standing into the middle of the room, an arm tightly holding Kagura up, a machete under the girl’s throat. It was already stained with blood, probably Sougo’s. ‘You make a move and her head’s on the ground, samurai’, finally said the amanto.

Gintoki simply frowned, getting a better look at the man. He didn’t seem really tall, probably just the same height as him, but his arms were quite big. Though his skin tone reminded Gintoki of Hedoro’s one, albeit lighter. Gintoki kept his sword down, and instead leaned against the nearest pillar. ‘I didn’t think you would obey that easily, you really care about the kid huh?’, the amanto continued, apparently eager to make small talk.

Gintoki simply shrugged, answering with a snort ‘Not so much, you can take her if you want, she eats too much anyway’.

Kagura’s indignant shout reverberated in the room as she swiftly got out of the man's grasp to throw a punch at Gintoki. But she couldn’t quite reach him as the amanto immediately grabbed her wrist back and yanked her towards him again. It made Gintoki frown before he realised that whatever he had made them inhale was still in their system, hence Kagura’s sloppy movement.

‘You really think I’m going to let you go just like that?’ the amanto said, face turning into a scowl and machete rising dangerously close to Kagura’s carotid to Gintoki’s liking. He was about to jump in but Shinpachi leaped before he could even move. The boy administered quite a punch right into the amanto’s cheek but didn’t even get the chance to cheer at his good aim because already the man retaliated, sending the boy to the ground. He hadn’t even bulged at his punch. Gintoki grit his teeth, he’d underestimated him.

He raised his bokutou again, glaring at the man in front of him. The latter simply smiled as he held the machete towards Gintoki, and then lurched. Gintoki immediately dodged but backed up instead of attacking. The amanto was still holding Kagura closely and there was no way he was taking the risk to cut her. Still eager to talk, the amanto said ‘Funny how you kids are always ready to throw a tantrum for each other, but one punch or cut is enough to knock you down’. Gintoki already wasn’t a big fan of talking during a fight, but the fact that he didn’t seem to understand what the amanto was talking about made the matter even worse.

It seemed that Shinpachi was confused too, as he asked ‘What do you mean?’. While fighting, the amanto and Gintoki had moved and the boy was now at Gintoki’s side. The latter felt a hand creeping against his waist but didn’t look down, focusing on the man in front of him instead.

The amanto nodded towards Sougo, still sprawled on the ground, ‘He was quite composed when he regained consciousness, but when I came back to tie you both down as well, he quite lost it’. He dodged another attack, before continuing, ‘Had to cut him up to make him shut it, it wasn’t an easy task, he almost escaped’.

‘You bastard’, was all Gintoki could say. Sougo was a brat, but it didn’t really surprise him to learn that the boy had tried to protect the two other kids. They’d grown used to being around each other, after all. The silver-haired man raised his sword a little higher, more motivated than before to put an end to this stupid fight.

On the other side of the room, the amanto seemed to never shut up. ‘See? You got all worked up just for that. I love when the people I kidnap start to struggle and take fright. I feed on fear’. Gintoki didn’t even listen to him, just keeping focused on his blows, the rest was useless, whatever he said wouldn’t stop Gintoki from bringing him down.

As he was fighting, the silver-haired man caught movement from the corner of his eyes. Intrigued, he tried to lead the fight closer to the back of the room. The amanto didn’t pay it much attention, and simply followed, boasting and wasting his breath.

There was no one in the back of the room, but a flash caught his eyes and as he turned his head towards it, he noticed a mirror affixed to the wall. As his eyes quickly scanned it, he noticed that there was something missing on his own reflection. Hijikata’s sword wasn’t here anymore. He barely dodged a dirty cut to the arm, pushing the amanto backward instead. When they stepped back into the centre of the room, Gintoki immediately noticed two things.

The first one was that Shinpachi was nowhere in sight, and the second was that Hijikata wasn’t tied to the pillar anymore. The silver-haired man smirked as he lunged forward, practically dropping his sword to the ground as he gripped Kagura and pulled her towards him. In the meantime, Shinpachi came from behind a pillar and hit the amanto’s wrist with a metal bar before stepping back.

Not deterred in the slightest, the amanto gripped the metal bar tightly and turned it over to get a better hold of it. He smiled as he brought it down, right in the direction of the boy’s nose. Yet this change of weapon made him drop his guard, and his face quickly changed as his blow was blocked by a metal sword.

Shinpachi stepped back and ran to Gintoki, grabbing Kagura swiftly from his arms and hoisting her towards Sougo’s direction. As he made sure that they were out of reach, Gintoki picked his bokutou up as he threw himself on the amanto, joining the Vice-Commander in his task. The latter had a smile plastered on his face, and Gintoki recognised it at the smirk that probably was the closest to be associated with his surname of Demonic Vice-Commander. Gintoki was always glad to share a fight with Hijikata when he let his instinct kick in.

Everything went quickly after that, with two samurais and only a metal bar to defend himself, the amanto lost face and got defeated quite easily. The two men kept their cut deep but out of any vital point, there was no way that they were going to let this man get an easy death. Jail would be a better place, Hijikata would make sure of it himself.

After the fight ended, they silently wiped the blood off of their respective sword, before finally locking eyes. None of the men said a word, but their eyes conveyed enough feelings for them to understand each other.

As Gintoki hanged his bokutou back against his side, he turned towards the kids, crossing the room in long strides. Kagura had fallen asleep against Shinpachi’s shoulder, and the boy had cradled Sougo’s head on his lap to level his head away from the concrete ground. The silver-haired man crouched, looking over Kagura quickly before turning towards the dark-haired boy, ‘Are you hurt anywhere?’.

Shinpachi shook his head and answered in a whisper ‘I don’t think so, my head hurts and I’m tired, but it’s just a headache’. Gintoki silently took note as he moved closer towards them.

At his side, Hijikata crouched down as well, looking over Sougo’s injury. ‘You bandaged him, thanks’, he simply said, eyes meeting Gintoki’s.

The latter simply nodded as an answer, and picked Kagura up, swiftly putting her on his back just like for a piggyback ride.

Hijikata searched through Sougo’s pocket in his jacket and fished a phone out of it. He dialled a number hastily and barely had to wait at the end of the second ring for the person on the other end of the line to pick up. ‘Sougo?? You’re okay? Where are you? We’ve been looking for you all night!’ The voice on the other end practically screamed, and Gintoki didn’t have much trouble recognizing Kondou’s voice.

‘Kondou-san, it’s Hijikata, I found him. He’s injured but it’s nothing lethal, we’re bringing him to the nearest hospital’, Hijikata said, almost forced to scream into the phone to stop his Commander’s flow of questions.

‘Oh. Okay. You’re okay? Where are you right now? Did you say “we”? Who’s with you?’ answered the Commander hastily, asking way too much question to Gintoki’s taste.

Hijikata didn’t even seem bothered by the man’s outburst. He was probably used to it, Gintoki found himself thinking. ‘I’m fine, Kondou-san, I’m with the Yorozuyas, we’re in Shinjuku Gyo-en park’. He paused, taking his breath. ‘We’ve arrested the amanto, I’ll need you to send a patrol to pick him up, I’ll send you the exact location by text. I’ll call you later, Kondou-san, see you’. He finally hung up, and Gintoki was practically sure that he had put the phone down on his Commander. If there was something Gintoki was fascinated about Hijikata, it probably was his straightforwardness. The man never said a word wrong, always stayed focused on the discussion he was having, and listened closely to every order he was given. Hijikata never used convoluted ways to say what was on his mind, honesty always prevailing, whereas Gintoki would beat about the bush, never being really sincere.

Silently and as if he hadn’t made any phone call, Hijikata put the phone into his own pocket and carefully picked Sougo up. He had to carry him bridal style in order to avoid worsening any injury, and every person present in the room including the Vice-Commander himself would have probably laughed at the boy’s predicament had the circumstances been different.

Finally, Shinpachi walked to Hijikata’s lighter that Gintoki had dropped at the beginning of the fight and shoved it into his pocket. They were all heading to the same place anyway, he’d have the opportunity to give it back to the man. He looked behind him, scanning the room to make sure that they hadn’t forgotten anything, and then stepped into the hallway. Gintoki and Hijikata followed suit, both carrying their kids. It was weird, oddly family-like and familiar, just the five of them. Gintoki felt like a mother in a reconstituted family, their small group coming home after an afternoon outside, the youngest ones already fast asleep. Even though it was far from reality, it probably was the closest thing from a normal family time they’d have in months. He tried to picture what would look like a normal family trip with the five of them, and his thoughts quickly drifted to Sougo pushing Hijikata from a cliff during a hike, Kagura breaking a table at a random restaurant, or Shinpachi getting involved with a weird girl during an evening party where both adults would have been way too wasted to notice it. It probably was for the better if they kept their usual habits.

Shinpachi barely set a foot outside before he was tackled to the ground by a ball of white fur. Sadaharu was wagging his tail happily, leaving a big smear of saliva down his cheeks. Hearing Shinpachi laugh brought a small smile to Gintoki’s face, his worries dissipating slightly as his dog seemed to be in totally good shape and full of energy again. The silver-haired man walked towards the dog, his right hand rubbing his forehead as he got closer and whispered to the dog ‘Glad to see you in great shape again Sadaharu, ya think y’can carry Shinpachi on your back up to the car, hm?’ he asked. He wasn’t sure the dog understood what he usually told him, but still, he seemed to get it this time, simply barking as he seemed to realise that Gintoki was carrying Kagura.

The dog gently nudged his nose into her hair, and Gintoki reassured him by petting his head again, ‘She’s just sleeping, big guy, don’t worry’. Reluctantly, Sadaharu stepped back, turning his attention back on Shinpachi who finally climbed on his back.

‘Hijikata-san, you can climb on Sadaharu as well you know, I’m sure there’ll be enough place for both of us and Sougo’, Shinpachi said. Gintoki eyed the Vice-Commander out of the corner of his eye, curious to see his boyfriend’s reaction to such an offer. Usually the raven-haired man prided himself in being a perfect example of professionalism and strictness in front of his men, often pushing past his own limits and never wavering in public. But tonight there was no one around, only just their weird family, and Gintoki almost urged him to take on the offer. Though the Yorozuya didn’t even need to say a word as Hijikata reluctantly nodded, carefully putting Sougo on the dog’s back before following him. He was tired, that much was obvious, but there was also no doubt that whatever the amanto had made them inhale was quite strong. At least the man would get some rest.

Gintoki didn’t sit on Sadaharu with everyone else. The adrenaline was still pulsing through his body and he had to at least keep moving to hope to calm down. Kagura’s weight against his back was grounding, her loud snoring in his ears taking a weight off his chest as relief filled his heart.

‘Gin-san?’ Shinpachi’s voice took him out of his thoughts.

He grunted in acknowledgment, but realised that even though Sadaharu was right next to him, his loud steps had probably covered his sound. ‘Yeah?’, he croaked out.

‘How did you find us?’ the boy asked, and Gintoki didn’t miss the sound of Hijikata snorting.

Gintoki ignored him and hummed thoughtfully instead, happily answering ‘Well you remember how I became Ketsuno Ana’s friend after we helped her clan, right?’ he asked.

Shinpachi huffed and answered confusedly ‘No Gin-san I don’t think that’s how you could call it, you-’ but got quickly cut off by Gintoki who started to talk again, totally ignoring Shinpachi’s answer to his apparently rhetorical question.

‘Well we stumbled on her while we were looking for you, she called for us to give us the localisation of the place the amanto was supposed to be’, he said proudly.

Hijikata snorted again as he shook his head, correcting Gintoki ‘Don’t listen to him, Shinpachi-kun. He made me stop the car to get an autograph, and she somehow recognised him as the Yorozuya and kindly offered to give him all the information she had on the amanto’.

‘See! I was close enough for her to recognise me and know that she could trust me with such precious information!’ Gintoki answered, outraged by Hijikata’s words. They both started to quarrel as they walked back towards the car, and Shinpachi let sleep take over him, lulled by the familiar sound of the bickering couple and comfortably nuzzling into Sadaharu’s warm fur.

  
  


As they silently reached the car and the parking lot where they’d left it a few hours ago, Gintoki slowed down the pace. Sadaharu seemed to understand that they had finally reached their destination, and let Hijikata slide off his back. The man easily retrieved the keys of the car and tossed them to Gintoki, turning back to get Sougo off Sadaharu as well.

Gintoki unlocked all four doors and opened them. He carefully set Kagura on the left of the back seat, she was a heavy sleeper, but it was best to be precautions. As he turned back towards his dog, he locked eyes with Hijikata before firmly saying ‘I’m driving’.

The latter didn’t seem to have any objection, the dark bags under his eyes and the yawn he barely held back didn’t help him much to hide his tiredness. Instead, he strengthened his hold on Sougo and walked closer to the car. He frowned as he looked at it, asking ‘And how exactly do you plan on making us all fit into the car?’

‘Just climb on the passenger seat with Sougo, I’ll fit my kids into the back seat’ Gintoki answered quite simply, and Hijikata could only do as he was told, sitting on the passenger seat, carefully manoeuvring to get Sougo comfortable enough. Well it wasn’t really comfortable strictly speaking, but frankly he didn’t really care much. He was exhausted and all he wanted was to bring Sougo to a hospital, make sure that he would be fine, that whatever they had inhaled wasn’t dangerous, and then get 12 hours of sleep straight. It couldn’t be so hard, right? He was so focused on his thoughts that he didn’t really pay much attention to Gintoki.

The latter had walked back to Sadaharu’s side, carefully picking Shinpachi up from his back. The boy had fallen asleep during the ride back to the car and Gintoki tried to be as soft in his movement as possible, compared to Kagura, the boy was a light sleeper. Carrying him with both arms, Gintoki turned towards Sadaharu before nodding towards the car, urging him to climb into the back seat next to Kagura. The dog diligently followed the silent order, eager to lay down as well. Finally, the silver-haired man laid Shinpachi next to Sadaharu. The back seat was cramped, but it would do the job. After that, Gintoki searched into Shinpachi’s pockets before finding the lighter he’d been looking for. He buckled the kids’ seat belts and straightened up, closing the car’s door as silently as he could.

Finally, Gintoki climbed on his seat and closed the driver’s door. He sighed, rubbing his face with both hands, before looking for the keys. ‘They’re already in the ignition’ Hijikata indicated after a few seconds with a chuckle.

Gintoki threw him a glare but it didn’t seem to do much since Hijikata kept looking at him with laughing eyes and a small smile on his lips. He felt one tugging on his lips at the sight. Slowly, Hijikata leaned towards him, plunging a hand in his pocket to fish the lighter out. Then he took a cigarette out of his packet, taking a drag before handing it to Gintoki. The latter accepted it eagerly and took a drag immediately. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Hijikata throw the red and white packet over the dashboard and open his window before leaning back into his seat and draping a protective arm around Sougo. He hadn’t been able to put the seat belt around them both.

Gintoki finally turned the ignition and left the parking lot, trying to remember the way to the closest hospital. His eyes frequently drifted from the road to the rear-view mirror, watching the peaceful up and lows of the kids’ chest as the peaceful sound of their snores reached his ears.

It was Hijikata who broke the silence, stating ‘Enjoy it, it’s the last cigarette of the packet’.

Gintoki snorted, ‘What a prince, thank you for making such a sacrifice for me, I will not let this be forgotten’.

‘Oh shut up’, was all Hijikata answered. Though in opposition to his words, Gintoki tried to push the cigarette back into Hijikata’s palm, knowing that the man probably needed that smoke way more than him. But the Vice-Commander silently refused, squeezing Gintoki’s hand in his again, an indirect sign of affection he often used when he didn’t feel like talking. Not that Gintoki was bothered, he definitely preferred this to words right now.

Still completely opposite to the quiet discussion going on between them, Gintoki snorted at Hijikata’s insult ‘That’s the least you can do anyway, I’ll remind you that you now owe me an autograph from Ketsuno Ana, asshole’.

Hijikata sighed, rubbing his face, ‘Yeah yeah, sure’. Gintoki would probably have to get another one himself.

The car fell silent as Gintoki kept driving. The streets were empty and it almost felt like Edo had been deserted. It was rare for them all six to be together and yet so quiet, but Gintoki would have lied if he’d said he enjoyed it fully. Sougo was injured, they weren’t sure if the amanto’s weird sleeping gas was harmless, and though he often complained about their loudness, he enjoyed hearing the kids bickering.

The silver-haired man sighed as he spoke again, ‘I hope that you’ll give Sougo a few days off after he’s back on his feet, the kid deserves it’, before adding ‘I’ll make sure to buy him dangos for a whole week’.

Hijikata chuckled, ‘Don’t spoil him, he’ll start wanting more’.

Gintoki smiled, ‘Well for once I don’t think I’ll have the heart to refuse him that. You better get used to it, Kondou will probably baby him for the month to come anyway’. He was expecting any sort of answer, but as he turned his head towards Hijikata, he realised that the man had fallen asleep. That was fast. The smile on his face widened as the green light in front of him turned red.

He took another drag from the cigarette and turned his head towards his open window. The sky was still dark and the moon was easy to spot. It was a nice sight. The night had been long and the morning they were sure to spend in the hospital would surely drag on, so Gintoki enjoyed this moment of peace.

Gintoki snorted, still lost in his thoughts, Hijikata sure had nothing in common with Ketsuno Ana, but Gintoki couldn’t say he would have preferred anyone else at the head of their weird family.

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope that you enjoyed it!
> 
> I wasn’t expecting it to be such a long fic, but what can I say, Gintama always keeps giving me inspiration haha!
> 
> I wanna thanks the moderators of the GinBday Bash for having contacted me for this project because it was really fun to do it, and @whoyoucallingtoshi who helped me all along the fic and found the title as well!! Give them love on their drawing please!!
> 
> Anyway, please leave comments and kudos, it always makes me happy to read them! :D


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